LSD,
or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is one of the most potent mind-altering
chemicals known to man. The discovery of LSD is attributed to
Dr. Albert Hofmann, a German scientist. Initial testing of the
chemical in 1938 did not lead to any striking new finding, and research
was discontinued. Five years later, on April 16, 1943, Hofmann
re-synthesized the compound to do further research. To his surprise,
he discovered the psychoactive hallucinogenic properties of the drug,
apparently by absorbing a small amount through his fingertips. Lysergic
acid diethylamide is LSD rather than LAD because the German word for
acid is saeure.

The
drug LSD can be administered a number of ways. The most popular
method has been orally through paper, sugar cubes, on a piece of gelatin,
or by pill. It can also be administrated intravenously or intramuscularly;
however, the effects are the same as if taken orally with a slightly
quicker onset. The average dose of LSD used by humans is approximately
1-2 micrograms/kg (about 100-200 micrograms). The
intensity of the experience is proportional to the size of the dose;
however, it is interesting to note that the duration of the trip seems
to stay the same at higher doses. A psychedelic dose of around
500 micrograms is likely to produce a total, but temporary, breakdown
of the usual ways of perceiving self and world. The effects of
the drug begin within one hour and generally last 8-12 hours. At
about 3-5 hours into the trip, the user experiences what is generally
known as the peak.

The
effects include intense visual and auditory hallucinations, euphoria,
depersonalization, and possible relieving of repressed memories. Also,
one perceives an increased stimulus from environment, changes in shape
and color, and temporal distortions. The user may also find it
extremely difficult to express his or her thoughts using language. In
essence, the dimensions one perceives during the acid experience transcend
words. Also, LSD stimulates centers of the sympathetic nervous
system in the midbrain, which results in pupillary dilation, increase
in body temperature, and rise in blood-sugar level. Parasympathetic
effects include salivation, lachyrmation, hypotension, and brachycardia. Low
doses stimulate respiration, but larger doses depress it.

LSD
is absorbed easily and completely through the gastrointestinal tract. Studies
on rats injected with LSD show that the drug disappeared, down to a
small trace, very rapidly from the bloodstream and was distributed
throughout the organism. The concentration of injected LSD in
various organs attains maximum values at 10 to 15 minutes, and then
falls off again swiftly. The small intestine, in which the concentration
attains the maximum within two hours, constitutes an exception. Only
1 to 10 percent of the elimination product exists as unaltered LSD;
the remainder is made up of various transformation products. As the
psychic effects of LSD persist even after it can no longer be detected
in the organism, researchers postulate the LSD is not active as such,
but that it rather triggers certain biochemical, neurophysiological,
and psychic mechanisms that provoke the inebriated condition and continue
in the absence of the active principle.

Researchers
have attempted to identify the mechanism of LSD through three different
approaches: comparing the effects of LSD with the behavioral interactions
already identified with neurotransmitters, chemically determining which
neurotransmitters and receptors LSD interacts with, and identifying
regions of the brain that could be responsible for the wide variety
of effects induced by the drug. Initial research found that LSD
structurally resembled serotonin (5-hydroxytrypamine). The evidence
indicates that many of the effects of LSD are through serotonin mediated
pathways. Subsequent research revealed that LSD not only has
affinities for 5-HT receptors, but also for receptors of histamine,
Ach, dopamine, and the catecholines: epinephrine and norepinephrine.

Two
areas of the brainstem that are thought to be involved in LSD’s
pathway are the Locus Coeruleus (LC) and the Raphe Nuclei (RN). The
LC is a small cluster of norepinephrine containing neurons in the pons
beneath the 4th ventricle. While norepinephrine activity
throughout the brain is mainly mediated by the LC, the majority of
serotonergic neurons are located in the Raphe Nuclei. The RN
is located in the middle of the brainstem from the midbrain to the
medulla. Both the LC and the RN have axons which extend to a
number of sites including the cerebellum, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebral
cortex, and hippocampus. LSD shuts down the firing of the serotonin
neurons in the Raphe Nuclei. When ingested into the human body,
LSD acts as a 5-HT (serotonin) autoreceptor inhibitor, thus it is a
5-HT agonist. LSD increases the level of active 5-HT molecules
by disaffecting their autoreceptors. While LSD does cause a decrease
in the autoreceptive firing of RN, this appears to be an effect and
not the cause of the psychedelic phenomena.

Hyper-responsiveness
to sensory stimuli of all modalities is just what one observes in humans
under the influence of psycheldic drugs. LSD has been found to
enhance the reactivity of the LC to sensory stimulations. Electrical
stimulation of the LC in rats results in hyper-responsive reactions
to stimuli (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.) The inhibition of
5-HT in the RN and release of norepinephrine from LC neurons results
in a flood of information form the sensory system reaching the brain.

LSD
poses zero physical addiction potential. Tolerance is acquired
rapidly, within three days, and dissipates equally rapidly without
withdrawal, craving, or symptoms of addiction. Cross-tolerance
can and is developed between other indole hallucinogens such as DMT
and Psilocybin. The most common adverse reaction is a temporary
episode of panic, the “bad trip.” Symptoms include
frightening illusions/ hallucinations, overwhelming anxiety, aggression,
depression, and fearfulness to the point of paranoid delusions. Talking
the user down is the best remedy for such reactions. Also, the
mental effects of LSD can be rapidly reversed by the intramuscular
administration of 50 mg of chlorpromazine. Prolonged reactions
may require hospitalization, and are often referred to as “LSD
psychosis.” However, many of these so-called LSD psychoses
could be other illnesses that were triggered by the stress of a traumatic
psychedelic drug experience and are not necessary the cause of the
drug itself.

Concerning
the drug’s purity on the black market, an LA county analysis
of street drugs (1984) reports that LSD is most likely 96% pure or
blank paper.Countless drug myths have
been spread which tell the dangers of speed and strychnine cutting
with LSD. The “speedy” quality of LSD is due the
pharmacological actions of LSD itself, and not necessarily due to
decomposition or impurities. LSD typically causes adrenergic
effects such as sweating, nervousness, jaw grinding and insomnia
which are easily confused with the side effects of amphetamine. Also,
studies indicate that strychnine is neither used in the synthesis,
produced by the synthesis, or a possible contaminant of the synthesis.

Other
myths and scare tactics perpetrated mainly by the DEA’s consistent
policy of disinfomation, as well as the public’s ignorance, are
justifiably untrue. A scientific study in 1972 titled “LSD
and Genetic Damage”, which reviewed 68 studies and case reports,
concluded that pure LSD ingested in moderate doses does not damage
chromosomes, does not cause detectable genetic damage, and is not a
carcinogen in man. Lethal doses of LSD are conservatively several
tens of thousands of times as much as a normal dose, making it (in
the toxic sense) one of the safest drugs known.

LSD
is a very potent drug, but is physically quite safe and non-toxic. The
dangers are purely psychological in nature. The experience while
on acid may release latent psychosis or provoke depression, leading
to irrational behavior. The so-called LSD psychosis has been
linked to forms of schizophrenia, and thus to some physiological disorders;
therefore, it appears to be dependent on the user, and not on the drug. On
the contrary, the drug offers a great potential for spiritual contact,
self-exploration, and conscious expansion of the mind. LSD dissolves
boundaries which form the construct of our reality. These boundaries
are erected as a result of socially inherent and egocentric views of
the universe around us. For one to be able to see beyond the
social man-made distinctions imposed upon us in our everyday physical
existence, and to question the nature of one’s own mind, is,
as far as I’m concerned, the greatest vision imaginable to human
comprehension.